Louver security clip

ABSTRACT

Pair of right-end and left-end clips which may be added to already installed louver panels by removing a panel from its endmounting brackets in a louver opening, such as a window or a door frame, adding a clip to each end and then permanently reinserting the clip carrying panel in the original end brackets where it will be retained against attempted extraction by a potential intruder.

United States Patent [1 Dalia [451 Sept. 9, 1975 LOUVER SECURITY CLIP [76] Inventor: Salvatore A. Dalia, 4583 W. 138th St., Hawthorne, Calif. 90250 [22] Filed: Oct. 29, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 518,502

52 us. Cl. 49/403 51 1m. (:1. E06B 7/08 58 Field 6: Search 49/403, 74-92;

24/255 LP, 255 s, 265 A; 160/236 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,685,717 8/1954 Blanchard 49/403 2,845,153 7/1958 West 49/403 x FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 110,039

3/1940 I Australia 49/85 885,992 1/1962 United Kingdom 49/403 Primary Examiner-Philip C. Kannan Attorney, Agent, or FirmHoward L. Johnson [57] ABSTRACT Pair of right-end and left-end clips which may be added to already installed louver panels by removing a panel from its end-mounting brackets in a louver opening, such as a. window or a door frame, adding a clip to each end and then permanently reinserting the clip carrying panel in the original end brackets where it will be retained against attempted extraction by a potential intruder,

2' Claims, 8 Drawing Figures LOUVER SECURITY CLIP BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Louver panels mounted in jalousie openings such as found in windows and doors are ordinarily held in place by pairs of horizontally separated end brackets which at the bottom are turned up to form a bottom edge channel for the panel when thus dropped into place. Vertical series of such pivotally mounted bracket pairs, each carrying a cross panel such as glass, are set in the jalousie frame and usually connected by a simultaneous tilting mechanism which is operable from within the room or building. When the panels are closed in unison so that their longitudinal edges overlap, they are intended by such positioning to be secured against entry from the outside.

However too often it has been discovered that an intruder, such as by forcing a small amount of opentilting of the closed panels from outside, can then push up or otherwise maneuver a panel out of its end brackets; by reaching in through the resulting opening, he can then readily remove the remaining panels and thus clear an aperture corresponding to the whole interior of the frame. Such procedure is accompanished silently, without breaking any glass or attracting attention, and indeed without use of any tool other than a wooden shingle or pocket comb which serves as a pry bar. Such instrument in most cases is not even considered a burglery tool when found on a trolling passerby, so that such louver panels when mounted thus in a jalousie opening which is large enough to admit a person (in the absence of the panels) is almost the equivalent to an open door as far as security is concerned.

While there are various intricate designs suggested for original installation in louvered windows and doors so as to lock each panel or pane in place, the fact remains that most louver assemblies employ the above open-channel construction which depends only upon a resilient tougue which presses against the panel to keep the latter in place; and such tongue does not do so when opposed by a nimble-fingered intruder. Consequently, the present problem is how simply to secure the thousands of already installed, easily opened jalousie assemblies, rather than totally replacing them with more complicated and obviously more expensive assemblies.

BRIEF STATEMENT OF THE INVENTION Accordingly it is an object of the invention to provide a simple (pair of) end oriented locking elements or clips which can be easily installed, without tools, on already installed, open-channel panel-holding-brackets -brackets so as thereafter to permanently retain the panel or (glass) pane in the bracket against attempts to dislodge it either from outside or within. In other words, the only way thereafter to remove such a louver pane is to break it out; and such action still does not in any way loosen the remaining panes.

The invention provides an attachment clip such as can be stamped out of sheet metal such as steel, which clip is formed with a bottom-end U-shaped channel adapted to receive the lower edge of the panel therein, and with a longitudinal (vertical) edge flange adapted to abut the vertical edge of a panel; plus a further upward extension which after the panel and mounted clip is inserted downward in the respective mounting brackets of the frame can then be downtumed over the top panel edge to overliethe inner face.

With the clip thus mounted, it is (a) stuck in the mounting bracket and held there by the spring tension of the primary original bracket, so as to be virtually incapable of upward retraction from the bracket, (b) it is shielded by the outer wall of the bracket against direct external attack or manipulation, and (c) the edge flanges of the clip, prevent displacement of the clip lengthwise across the panel from its end anchorage within the mounting bracket. Where such panels or glass panes are tiltable by pivotal movement of the mounting brackets within the frame, that is, for opening and closing so as to regulate the entrance of light and air, such easy adjustment is not at all affected by the presence of the present clips. Moreover the louvers can now be left open without such constituting an obvious invitation to an intruder to push successive panels out of their brackets (from outside) and thus gain surreptitious entry.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view through a louver panel held in a conventional mounting bracket, shown in open position, with the closed position indicated in phantom.

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of the panel when closed, viewed from outside the jalousie frame along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view similar to FIG. 1 of a bracket-mounted panel to which the present security clip has been added, with the top-projecting tab indicated in phantom before being turned down.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are elevational views of the end portion of the mounted panel of FIG. 3, viewed from the inner and outer faces, along the respective lines 44 and 5-5.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the security clip shown in its unmounted form, that is, with top end tab extended.

FIG. 7 is an edge view thereof, rotated on its longitudinal axis from the FIG. 6 position.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the companion member of an oriented pair of such security clips, designed for the other end of the panel than the clip of FIG. 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A conventional, panel mounting bracket B is formed by an outer facing strip 10, with a generally perpendicularly inturned, bottom support ledge 12, and with the outer edge of the strip 10 being turned against the end of the ledge 12 so as to form an end abutment wall 14 for a glass (or other) panel P which may be inserted downward into such channel so as to be supported on the ledge 12. Intermediate the height of the panel, the end wall 14 of the bracket becomes wider so as to provide a socket for a transverse pivot 16 which is received in an upright anchorage post 18, which post is disposed upright in a generally rectangular frame 20 such as corresponds to a ventilator or window opening or to a door-mounted opening in the wall of a building.

A further extension of the end wall 14 inward from the pivot mount, forms a lever arm 22, the several ends of the lever arms being pivotally attached at 23 to an upright operating rod 24, by movement of which up and down, all the connected panels can be opened or closed in unison. Above and below the lever arm, are

two panel-engagement lengths 26, 28 of the bracket which are located so as frictionally to bear against the inner face of the panel with resilient force. The upper length 28 has a lower segment 27 bent inward from the end wall 14 and an upper, resilient segment 29 bent normally toward the panel and formed with a terminal lip 30 which normally overlies the upper longitudinal edge of the panel and serves as a barrier against its upward displacement. The lower length 26 also has a dependent resilient tab 25 disposed to frictionally engage the inner wall or face of the mounted panel. When closed, the lower, inner edge 32 of the panel overlies (more or less frictionally) the outer, upper margin 34 of the panel immediately beneath it. While this closed condition is generally satisfactory to prevent entrance of air currents including blown dust and rain, as noted earlier, such panels are subject to be rather readily pried apart by a potential intruder from the exterior, and once one is removed the others are readily lifted out.

The present invention now provides a pair of security clips (FIGS. 6 and 8), typically stamped out of sheet steel, and configured to engage the respective (right and left) ends of a panel P. Each clip is formed of a flat length 40, 40a, turned up along one edge to form an end abutment wall or flange 42, 42ato be held against opposite ends of the panel and being approximately the height of the panel, that is, extending along an intermediate length (height) of the strip. At one end (bottom) of the length of the clip, it is bent inward for a cross arm 41 and thence upward as a parallel arm 43 to the main length 40, thus forming a U-shaped or generally opentop channel C in which the panel may be inserted readily (when separate from the mounting bracket). This leaves a laterally unconnected extension tab 45 continuing in line with the main length 40. After sliding the panel with its attached pair of mounting clips into the mounting bracket B, the projecting tab 45 is initially extending as shown in phantom in FIG. 3. It is then turned down (inward) over the top edge of the bracket lip 30 to form the cross arm 44 and thence downward over the resilient arm 29 and overlying the inner face of the panel. It will be seen that the upper resilient bracket portion 29 still directly bears on the panel face, while the lower resilient bracket portion 25 bears against the panel-holding channel C of the security clip. There is no longer any looseness of the panel P relative to the bracket B and the former cannot be tilted therein at all, which previously was necessary to obtain its removal. Even breaking the glass of the panel, does not cause the end pieces to fall out of their brackets, but in most cases would leave. jagged edges which would contact an intruders arm if he tried to thrust it through the opening.

I claim:

1. A security clip for use with a generally rectangular, flat-faced louver panel when such panel is disposed in a jalousie opening by means of a pair of end brackets each positioned to engage opposite faces of the panel along the respective end margin thereof said clip comprising an elongated, generally flat strip having a greater length then the height of said panel, with a generally perpendicular abutment flange upstanding along one longitudinal edge of the strip in position for abutment with an end of the panel adjacent thereto, a segment of the strip extending below the lower end of the abutment flange and forming an open-top generally U-shape channel adapted for reception of the lower edge of the panel therein, and the opposite, top end of the strip beyond said abutment flange being formed by a longitudinally extending segment which may be bent inward over the top edge of the channelretained panel and thence downward overlying the inner face of the end margin thereof, whereby such clip-carrying panel when snugly lodged within the corresponding end bracket by such clip disposed therebetween, is retained against displacement from the particular end bracket. 2. The combination comprising a louver panel dis posed in a jalousie opening by means of a pair of pivotal end brackets and carrying a pair of the security clips of claim I mounted thereon. 

1. A security clip for use with a generally rectangular, flatfaced louver panel when such panel is disposed in a jalousie opening by means of a pair of end brackets each positioned to engage opposite faces of the panel along the respective end margin thereof said clip comprising an elongated, generally flat strip having a greater length then the height of said panel, with a generally perpendicular abutment flange upstanding along one longitudinal edge of the strip in position for abutment with an end of the panel adjacent thereto, a segment of the strip extending below the lower end of the abutment flange and forming an open-top generally U-shape channel adapted for reception of the lower edge of the panel therein, and the opposite, top end of the strip beyond said abutment flange being formed by a longitudinally extending segment which may be bent inward over the top edge of the channel-retained panel and thence downward overlying the inner face of the end margin thereof, whereby such clip-carrying panel when snugly lodged within the corresponding end bracket by such clip disposed therebetween, is retained against displacement from the particular end bracket.
 2. The combination comprising a louver panel disposed in a jalousie opening by means of a pair of pivotal end brackets and carrying a pair of the security clips of claim 1 mounted thereon. 